Religious Education
The official journal of the Religious Education Association
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How Can Buddhist Education Help Adolescents
Develop Moral Behavior?
Loc Tan Le
To cite this article: Loc Tan Le (2021): How Can Buddhist Education Help Adolescents Develop
Moral Behavior?, Religious Education, DOI: 10.1080/00344087.2021.2018642
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2021.2018642
Published online: 22 Dec 2021.
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2021.2018642
How Can Buddhist Education Help Adolescents Develop
Moral Behavior?
Loc Tan Le
Tran Nhan Tong Institute, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam
ABSTRACT
Although Buddhist education has been widely used all over the
world, Vietnamese students cannot currently access it at school.
Recently, some Truc Lam (Bamboo Forest) Zen monasteries have
offered religious education to adolescents in the hope of improving
their moral behavior. However, no empirical studies have evaluated
the effectiveness of these efforts. As a result, this study examined
whether Buddhism helps teenagers develop moral behaviors. The
findings showed that Buddhist religious education can enhance adolescents’ understanding of Buddhist doctrines, increase their faith,
and promote Buddhist practices. As a result, they committed antisocial behaviors less often.
KEYWORDS
Buddhism; Buddhist
education; religious
education; adolescence;
moral development
Introduction
The primary goal of Buddhist education is to help learners achieve wisdom (Meshram
2013). According to Kung (1997, 5), people engage in negative actions because of their
lack of wisdom. Sivasai (2014, 69) claimed that religious education could help to reduce
ignorance, the root cause of suffering. Buddhist religious education has existed since the
time of Shakyamuni Buddha, who was stated by Mahathera (1998, 31) and
Paramananda (2014, 17) to be the greatest moral teacher. He not only taught his disciples (monks and nuns) how to become enlightened, but also taught lay followers to live
morally. For example, the Buddha taught a layman named Anathapindika and 500 other
lay followers to abide by the Five Precepts (no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying, and no intoxicants) to avoid unwholesome karma (S. Thich 2019,
1119–1125). As Aguirre (2017, 1304) noted, virtues are needed for global development.
Hence, Kandahjaya (2014, 25–26) argued that Buddhism could contribute to that.
Furthermore, it also ensures sustainable development because of its ability to provide
people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values necessary to shape a sustainable
future (Sivasai 2014, 75).
Although Buddhism is not native to Vietnam, the religion has been closely integrated
into traditional Vietnamese culture for approximately 2000 years (L. Nguyen 2012, 15).
Historically, it played a significant role in the national education system (H. Nguyen
and C. Nguyen 2016). Under the Tran Dynasty, Tran Thai Tong and Tran Nhan Tong
(kings who were also Zen Masters) offered the people Buddhist education to enhance
ß 2021 The Religious Education Association
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L. T. LE
their morality. King Tran Thai Tong (b. 1218–d. 1277), who led the people to defeat
the Mongols invading Dai Viet (the name of Vietnam from the 11th to 19th centuries)
for the first time, wrote a discourse to teach his people how to practice the Five
Precepts (T. Tran 2017, 47–52). King Tran Nhan Tong (b.1258–d.1308), after leading
resistance forces to defeat the Mongol invaders twice, abdicated his throne to live as an
ascetic. He then founded the Truc Lam (Bamboo Forest) Zen sect and traveled around
the country to teach his people the Ten Good Deeds (T. Thich 1995, 34). However,
Buddhism is now not taught in Vietnamese state schools. H. Nguyen and C. Nguyen
(2016) explained that religious education is not part of the school curriculum because
the promulgation of religion is forbidden in state schools under Vietnam’s Law on
Education. This article explores the significance of this.
At a conference on Buddhist education held by the Vietnam Buddhist Institute in
2019 in Ho Chi Minh City, several scholars suggested that certain Buddhist doctrines
could help young improve their attitudes and behavior. Tran and Nguyen (2019) proposed teaching the Law of Cause and Effect to teenagers because it could prevent them
from engaging in antisocial behaviors. H. D. Le (2019) stated that the Five Precepts and
the Six Rules of Harmony could encourage teenagers to live harmoniously with others
in the community. In addition, L. T. Nguyen (2019) and H. T. Le (2019) argued that
the Five Precepts and the Four Debts of Gratitude may help adolescents control antisocial behaviors. What they suggested may help, but is unconvincing because of a lack
of empirical evidence. They merely analyzed the relevant Buddhist doctrines and came
to a theoretical conclusion. Empirical research is needed to provide more persuasive evidence. This work examines whether Buddhist education can help teenagers control antisocial behaviors.1 The research outcome may help the development of Buddhist
education, not only in Vietnam but also worldwide.
A theory of Buddhist education
According to Oh and Park (1988), Buddhist education should help learners enhance
their morality by combining religious faith, understanding, and practice, of which the
first is the most important.2 To achieve the goal, teachers, as Oh and Park (1988, 253)
stated, must be responsible for providing a good education. To define what a good education is, Groome (1980, 20–21) investigated definitions provided by Lawrence Cremin,
Alfred North Whitehead, and Greek pedagogs; he concluded that it “must be cognitive,
affective, and behavioral.” The term “cognitive” in Groome’s observation is equivalent
to the concept of intellectuality in Buddhism; “affective” is similar to emotions; and
“behavioral” relates closely to Buddhist ethical morality (Oh and Park 1988, 252). As a
result, they claimed that their model was in line with Groome’s conclusions.
Furthermore, they suggested that Buddhist education should be held in temples for
1
In a Vietnamese context, antisocial behaviors are understood to be individual actions which are harmful to society and
the national tradition.
The terms saddha (Pali) and sraddha (Sanskrit) are often translated “faith” in English. These terms imply confidence in
the Buddha’s teachings (or the recitation of sacred texts and mantras directed at the Buddha or celestial Buddhas/
Bodhisattvas) to bring about their concomitant results, i.e., nirvana, or a more worldly effect of some kind. My thanks
to Dr. Chris Gibbons for his assistance with this terminology.
2
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sutra study, not in secular schools. Groome’s educational theory is also linked to
Buddhist pedagogy by Dong (2003).
Nevertheless, the order of the three aspects Oh and Park set is not necessarily logical.
As Glock and Stark (1965, 20–21) noted, religious knowledge is necessary to create
belief. In Buddhism, the process of achieving wisdom includes three steps: learning,
reflecting, and practicing. The first step is to study the Dharma and the second is to
judge whether it is correct or not; only when we find it is reasonable should we then
believe (T. Thich 2011a, 2011b, 142–144). In the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, outsiders
only placed their faith in the Three Jewels after hearing his words (see Vappa Sutra in
Madhyamagama [S. T. Thich 2019, 95–102]). Therefore, understanding must come
before faith. Based on this theory of Buddhism, the process of Buddhist religious education follows this sequence: (1) teaching activities, (2) understanding, (3) faith, and
(4) practice.
Methodology
Study design
This study was designed as exploratory sequential mixed method research to explore
how Buddhist education provided by three Zen monasteries belonging to the Truc Lam
(Bamboo Forest) Zen sect could help teenagers control antisocial behaviors.3
Participants
After being informed of the aims of the study, all 140 adolescents aged 12–18 who had
been attending every Sunday retreat at the three Zen monasteries for a period of
6 months volunteered to join (mean age ¼ 14.89, SD ¼ 2.17; male ¼ 81 [57.9%] and
female ¼ 59 [42.1%]). This group was known as the experimental group, which was
surveyed twice using the questionnaire .
In the second survey, 11 participants withdrew because they were over 18. At that
time, another 11 teenagers who had just reached the age of 12 years agreed to participate in the group. Despite the changes in membership, this was still the experimental
group. Hence, the total number of participants was unchanged between the two surveys
(mean age ¼ 14.56, SD ¼ 1.95; male ¼ 77 [55%], and female ¼ 63 [45%]). A separate
group acted as the control group: it consisted of 81 members who had not attended any
retreats offered by the Zen monasteries before agreeing to take part in this study (mean
age ¼ 14.74, SD ¼ 1.44; male ¼ 30 [37%] and female ¼ 51 [63%]). This group was
only surveyed once, at the time the second survey was done with the experimental group.
Participation in the study was approved by the retreat organizers and the participants’
parents, who provided written consent (sought after the teens volunteered). Prior to
that, the research proposal had been summited to Tran Nhan Tong Institute, Vietnam
3
Truc Lam Buddhism laid the foundation for social morality under the Tran Dynasty in Vietnam. Its teachings and
practices were intended not only for Zen masters but also for all people because its doctrines stated that everyone had
the Buddha-nature.
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L. T. LE
National University, for official ethical approval, and the Institute then supervised the
study’s progress.
Setting
Facing a recent rise in antisocial behaviors in adolescents, many Vietnamese parents
have tended to send their children to Buddhist pagodas to learn and practice Buddhist
principles (Hong 2019; Nguyen 2020). They hope their children will then behave better.
Thus, some pagodas have held retreats for teenagers. As stated, three Truc Lam
Buddhist Zen monasteries organized retreats in two forms: every Sunday and as a block
course in summer to give the teens more options. During the retreats, adolescents took
part in a range of activities including Dharma teaching, meditation guidance, and taking
lunch mindfully (see the schedule in Appendix A).
Measurement
Four variables were examined in this article: teaching activities, understanding, faith,
and practice.
Teaching activities
Although the schedule included different activities, this study investigated the Dharma
teaching and meditation guidance, because they may have a considerable impact on
adolescents.
Dharma teaching
The monks or nuns taught the teens the doctrines preached by the Buddha and how to
apply them to their everyday life. Each session lasted for around 45 min.
Meditation guidance
Meditation can be practiced in four postures: walking, standing, lying down, and sitting,
of which the last one is the easiest. The monks or nuns taught the teens how to sit for
meditation. At the retreat, they had around 45 minutes to practice it. They were also
encouraged to practice for at least 30 minutes at home every day.
At lunchtime, the teens learned how to have lunch mindfully and embrace gratitude
to those who had made food for them. During lunch, they also practiced self-reflection
to recognize greed, anger, and ignorance arising in their mind and aim to abandon
these things. They were taught to use this technique any time during the day or even
while sitting for meditation. After lunch, they projected merit and virtues to all sentient
beings in general and almsgivers in particular.
Teaching activities covered seven items based on responses made by the teens to the
following statement: (1) You find it easy to understand the Dharma lessons provided by
the monks or nuns, (2) You like their teachings very much, (3) You can apply the doctrines you have learned, (4) You have learned how to meditate, (5) You have learned
how to have mindful lunch, (6) You have understood the meaning of the steps in the
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process of having mindful lunch, and (7) You have found mindful lunch helpful.
Responses were recorded using a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (completely disagree)
to 5 (completely agree). The scale had good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha
¼ 0.781).
Understanding
The study investigated the teenaged partcipants’ understanding of Buddhist doctrines.
They had learned the Life of the Buddha, the Five Precepts, the Law of Cause and
Effect, the Four Debts of Gratitude, and the Six Rules of Harmony before the first survey was conducted. Therefore, 20 multiple choice questions about those doctrines were
designed to test their understanding (see Appendix B). Ten of them were presented in
each of the two surveys. One point was given for each correct answer. The average
scores were used in the evaluation.
Faith
Using Oh and Park’s (1988, 252) definition, belief in the Buddha-nature was probably
difficult for the adolescents to understand in this research context, because they were
only beginners. The definition provided by Saddhatissa (1970, 56) and Rahula (1974, 8)
may be more appropriate, which is faith in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma,
and the Sangha.
The Buddha
The Buddha discovered that the causes of suffering were greed, anger, and delusion; if
people could get rid of these, they would be happy, and all beings could achieve
Buddhahood (Yin and Ho 2002, 29; H. Thich 2011a, 2011b, 32–33). After his awakening, he went all around India to teach people how to live wisely and happily.
The Dharma
Dharma is what the Buddha taught. Due to the broad and complex nature of the
Dharma, which can vary in different contexts, the Buddha’s teaching must be defined
for research purposes. This study surveyed the Five Precepts, the Law of Cause and
Effect, the Four Debts of Gratitude, and the Six Rules of Harmony, which the adolescents had learned in the retreats.
The five precepts
The Precepts are no killing, no stealing, no committing improper sex acts, no lying or
saying harmful things, and no taking alcohol or intoxicants. The monks or nuns taught
the rules to the teens through Buddhist stories and encouraged them to observe as
many as possible to achieve happiness in their lives.
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The law of cause and effect
The Law is an axiom that cites the relationship between an action and its corresponding
result. Adolescents learned the principle via Buddhist stories, and this was reviewed in
different contexts so that the teens were familiar with it. This doctrine is very important
because it can cause them to examine their own thoughts, words, and actions.
The four debts of gratitude
The Debts include gratitude to parents, the Three Jewels, the motherland and society,
and all living beings. The doctrine was not only taught in Dharma classes, but also
reviewed at the Ullambana Festival held by the Zen monasteries. On this occasion,
many Vietnamese people, both Buddhists and non-Buddhists, show filial piety to their
parents, with Buddhists also going to pagodas to make offerings to the Triple Gem
(Dang and Nguyen 2014; Trinh 2015; Vo and Nguyen 2016). Teenagers could also learn
those debts of gratitude through Buddhist songs taught by the Brothers and Sisters
(young lay followers who assisted the monks or nuns at the retreat).
The six rules of harmony
These rules refer to the harmonies of dwelling together, speech, views, discipline and
study, shared benefits, and discussion. The monks or nuns not only taught teenagers
the content of each rule, but also drew examples from modern life to illustrate it. They
encouraged the teens to give examples from their family and school lives.
The Sangha
The Sangha were originally the Buddha’s disciples, who left home to live and work
together in line with the Six Rules of Harmony, teaching living beings on the Buddha’s
behalf. In this research context, the Sangha are also contemporary monks and nuns at
the Zen monasteries where the adolescents came to join the retreats.
The variable of faith in this research context thus consisted of six items: belief in the
Buddha, the Five Precepts, the Law of Cause and Effect, the Six Rules of Harmony, the
Four Debts of Gratitude, and the Sangha. The response scale for each item ranged from
1 (complete disbelief) to 5 (absolute belief). The reliability values of the scale had alpha
coefficients of 0.835 and 0.895 for the first and the second surveys, respectively.
According to Bonett and Wright (2015), these values are satisfactory.
Practice
Religious practice is the most fundamental aspect of Buddhism (Baptist 1991, vi). There
are different ways of practicing Buddhism, including chanting the sutras, reciting the
Buddha’s name, meditating, practicing mindfulness, and donating (H. Nguyen 2017a).
This research examined three aspects: the extent to which the teenagers could apply
what they had learned from Buddhist doctrines (1: inapplicable; 5: very applicable); the
frequency of teenagers’ seated meditation at home (1: never; 5: very often); and the frequency of teenagers’ self-reflection (1: never; 5: very often). The first was known as
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doctrine practice. Meditation practice is a new variable computed from the mean of the
second and third questions.
Moral behavior and “antisocial behavior”
The teenagers self-reported their frequency of committing antisocial behaviors in the past
year. This is understood to be behavior that violates social and traditional norms. The
variable included 11 items selected from findings on antisocial behavior in adolescents
published by Vietnamese scholars (H. Phan 2016; V. Dinh 2017; T. Nguyen 2017b; T.
Pham 2017, 2018; K. Do 2019): lying to others because of negative motivations; cheating
on examinations/tests; playing truant; fighting with others; using foul language/swearing;
stealing the belongings of other people (regardless of their value); littering in public places; quarreling with others; hurting grandparent/parent by words or acts; using addictive
substances; and not saying thanks after receiving gifts or help from others. The items
were rated on a seven-point scale (1 is none, 2 is 1–2 times, 3 is 3–4 times, 4 is 5–6
times, 5 is 7–8 times, 6 is 9–10 times, and seven is more than 10 times) developed by Ma
(2015). The reliability value of the scale had an alpha coefficient of 0.789.
Procedure
First, we investigated the retreat program and interviewed four teenagers and four
teachers, using semi-structured questions. We also observed how the program was run.
This helped to identify what research issues needed focusing on and informed the construction of the questionnaire. The questionnaire was then pre-tested by surveying a
group of 34 teenagers who joined every Sunday retreat at one of the three Zen monasteries. Following analysis of the pre-test, two other groups at the two other monasteries
also completed it. The survey focused mainly on examining teaching activities, the teens’
understanding of Buddhism, and their faith.
To examine the reasons why they had faith in Buddhism and how they changed their
behavior as a consequence of Buddhist education, we conducted 12 in-depth interviews
with teenagers attending every Sunday retreat. There were six males and six females,
who used to have behavioral problems including bullying, fighting, quarreling, and failing to apply themselves at school. Each interview lasted 30–45 min.
Six months later, we conducted the second survey using the second questionnaire. It
again consisted of questions to investigate the teens’ understanding and their faith. It
also included items to evaluate the frequency of committing antisocial behavior. The
control group completed this questionnaire as well.
All questionnaires were anonymous, distributed directly to the adolescents in groups on
the days they came to the Zen monasteries to attend the retreats. The control group completed the questionnaire on the first day of the retreat when they had not learned anything.
Data analysis
The resulting dataset was analyzed using Student’s t-test and Spearman’s correlation
with SPSS version 20 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL).
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Figure 1. Correlation between the aspects of the Buddhist educational process. Note. p < .05 (2tailed) and p < .01 (2-tailed).
Results
The findings from the first-time survey revealed positive associations between the
aspects of the Buddhist educational process (Figure 1). The variable of teaching activities positively correlated with the teens’ understanding (rs [138] ¼ 0.19, p < .05) and it
also had a positive association with their faith (rs [138] ¼ 0.55, p < .01). In addition,
their understanding positively related to their faith (rs [138] ¼ 0.21, p < .01).
The data analysis from the second investigation continued to reflect a positive connection between the components of Buddhist education (Figure 2). Understanding and
faith had a positive relationship with each other (rs [138] ¼ 0.28, p < .01). Faith was
positively associated with the teenagers’ doctrine practices (rs [127] ¼ 0.24, p < .01), but
it did not correlate with meditation practice (p ¼ .1).
The most remarkable finding was that there were significant relationships between
the components of the Buddhist educational process and the occurrence of antisocial
behavior (Figure 2). Understanding negatively correlated with antisocial acts (rs [138] ¼
0.21, p < .01). The teens who had better religious understanding committed antisocial
behavior less often. Importantly, doctrine practices also had a negative connection with
antisocial behaviors (rs [127] ¼ 0.18, p < .05). The more teenagers practiced Buddhist
doctrines, the less often they committed antisocial acts. Noticeably, faith did not have
any association with negative actions (p ¼ .95).
The data collected from the interviews also indicated that Buddhist education could
encourage adolescents to develop their moral behavior by improving their understanding. Interestingly, their faith was also fostered by their growing knowledge and fruitful practice.
Previously [the time before she came to the retreats], I did not know anything about
Buddhism, and so I did not have faith in the Law of Cause and Effect. I did not care about
everyone surrounding me and how they felt. I did not also pay attention to my study. I did
not help my grandparents [she lived with them]. I watched TV or hung out with my friends
all day. I usually played truant to stay home for sleeping or going out with my friends.
When I learned the teachings from the Buddha, I am more thoughtful. I know how to take
care of my grandparents and help them do the housework such as cooking, cleaning, and
washing up. In particular, I have been keener on my study. My study outcome is much
better now. They are the Dharma lessons on the Law of Cause and Effect and the Life of the
Buddha that have made me change. The Buddha got rid of his wealthy life and overcame a
lot of difficulties to reach height. Why can I not do it? Therefore, I have strong faith in the
Buddha and the Law of Cause and Effect now. (15-year-old female)
I thought about the Law of Cause and Effect and recognized that it worked very well with
me. When someone hurts me, I think about it, and then my anger disappears immediately.
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Figure 2. Correlation between the aspects of the Buddhist educational process and the teens’ antisocial behavior. Note. p < .05 (2-tailed) and p < .01 (2-tailed).
So I believe it. The Buddha? I do not care if he was a genuine person, but the most
important thing is that he had a kindly manner I can learn. He sat meditating under the
Bodhi Tree for 49 days and nights. He worked very hard; meanwhile, I spent my time
sleeping much more than studying. Learning from Him, I have studied harder and harder,
and I am in the first place in math, physics, and chemistry in my class. And so I have
great faith in Him. (17-year-old male)
It was faith that could keep the teens following Buddhism. Monks or nuns also
played a vital role in reinforcing it.
Firstly, I did not often attend the retreats because I had no faith in the retreat program.
Then I stayed home for the time, and one day I felt that I had missed something and then
I joined again. After receiving the Dharma lessons from the monks/nuns and being
informed of how the retreats work, I had great faith. (18-year-old female)
The qualitative data also suggested that teenagers could control their antisocial acts if
they practiced meditation at home. A 17-year-old male sat in meditation at home for
approximately a half hour each day; as a result, he could bottle his negative emotions
up, which might otherwise have led to aggressive behavior, as found by Fazel et al.
(2015); Mestre, Malonda, and Samper-Garcıa (2017); and Heinze et al. (2017), who
found significant correlations between psychological problems, such as anxiety, depression, and stress, and violence in adolescents aged 15–18.
My favorite time is meditation time. At that time, I do self-reflection to change myself.
Sometimes I remember being bullied by other students when I was in my lower secondary
school, and the feeling of deep hatred for them runs high. Meditation sitting helps me let
it go. [ … ] I sit in meditation for 30 minutes every day.
A 14-year-old male experienced the fruitfulness of self-reflection in his daily job but
not in seated meditation. Thanks to that technique, he could control his bad temper.
When my friends tease me, I am angry, and I recognize how it is going up in my mind.
Before that [before the time he came to the retreats], I did not see it because it "swallowed"
me. Thanks to self-reflection, I recognize the "fire" in my mind, then it went out
immediately, and my mind came down.
To explore how Buddhist education could improve behavior in teenagers, the performance of the two groups was compared with each other. The results showed that the
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Table 1. Differences in Performance Between the Two Groups
Experimental group (N ¼ 140)
Control group (N ¼ 81)
Understanding
M (SD)
p
5.5 (1.62)
.000
4.1 (1.81)
Faith
M (SD)
4.34 (.71)
3.94 (.66)
p
.000
Antisocial behavior
M (SD)
p
2.12 (.89)
.02
2.42 (.95)
Note. M: mean; SD: standard deviation
p < .05, two-tailed.
experimental group had better performance (Table 1). They committed antisocial behavior less often (M ¼ 2.12, SD ¼ 0.89 versus M ¼ 2.42, SD ¼ 0.95; p ¼ .02). The outcome
also partly reflected the reasons why they had performed more adequately, because they
had greater understanding (M ¼ 5.5, SD ¼ 1.62 versus M ¼ 4.1, SD ¼ 1.81; p ¼ .000)
and greater faith (M ¼ 4.34, SD ¼ 0.71 versus M ¼ 3.94, SD ¼ 0.66; p ¼ .000).
Discussion
The findings illustrated that Buddhist education could control self-reported negative
behavior in adolescents using the following sequence: Teaching activities enhanced their
Buddhist understanding, increasing their faith, which promoted their practice. It was
the practice that helped them control their negative actions, which corroborates
Baptist’s (1991, vii) argument for the importance of application in Buddhism. It also
supports the claim made by Sivasai (2014, 75) that people can acquire the knowledge,
skills, attitudes, and values that are vital in planning for a sustainable future. Buddhist
education can be defined as a process in which teachings can change learners for the
better by enhancing their religiosity, which consists of these dimensions: understanding
of religion, faith, and practice.
Faith, as defined in this research, was not as essential in developing moral behavior
as Oh and Park (1988, 252) had claimed. However, the interviews showed that it was
necessary for the teens because if the teens do not have faith, they may leave Buddhism.
This is in good agreement with what the Buddha preached in the Avatamsaka Sutra
(Cleary 1993, 331): “Faith is the basis of the Path, the mother of virtues. Nourishing
and growing all good ways.”
The results also indicated the significant role of understanding developed by teaching
activities. Understanding both fostered the faith of the teens and helped them control
their antisocial behavior. The finding supports Oh and Park’s (1988, 253) recommendation that teachers have to be responsible. If they had not performed well, their students
would have not changed for the better.
Moreover, the qualitative data showed that meditation practice worked well with adolescents, allowing them to recognize their negative emotions, which could otherwise
lead to negative behaviors (Fazel et al. 2015; Mestre, Malonda, and Samper-Garcıa 2017;
Heinze et al. 2017). The finding is in line with what the Buddha taught in the
Dharmapada (Buddharakkhita 1985, 23):
Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an
impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the
foot of the ox.
Basically, the Buddhist education offered by the Zen monasteries achieved their primary goal, which was to help the teens control their behavior. Comparing the
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performance of two groups showed that the experimental group committed negative
acts less often than the control group thanks to Buddhist education. Committing such
acts less often meant that teenagers could gradually abandon their greed, hatred, and
delusion, bringing them, their family, and their community happiness. That is very
similar to what the Buddha explored. As a result, the Truc Lam Zen monasteries should
extend it.
There may be an argument about unfair comparison because of the unbalanced proportions of males in the two groups. In this study, the two groups of adolescents had
nearly the same mean age (14.56 versus 14.74), but the proportion of males in the control group was much lower (37 versus 55%). As discovered by Trillo and Redondo
(2013), Mobarake (2015), and Santos et al. (2019), males tend to engage in antisocial
behavior more often than females. The findings of this study significantly differ from
these previous studies. There were no differences in the incidence of antisocial behavior
between the two genders (M ¼ 2.24, SD ¼ 0.90 versus M ¼ 2.00, SD ¼ 0.86; p ¼ .07).
That is consistent with the spirit of the Truc Lam Zen sect: all people are equal, having
the Buddha-nature (T. Thich 2013, 204). If they all practice, all of them can live morally. The quantitative data analyzed demonstrated no differences in doctrine practice
and meditation practice between the two genders (p values were .80 and .06,
respectively).
The findings also support what L. T. Nguyen (2019), H. D. Le (2019), H. T. Le
(2019), and Tran and Nguyen (2019) proposed with regard to teaching Buddhist doctrines to the young. Buddhist doctrines such as the Five Precepts, the Law of Cause and
Effect, the Six Rules of Harmony, and the Four Debts of Gratitude may not be too difficult for teens to understand. According to H. Thich (2011a, 2011b), these doctrines can
establish a foundation for beginners.
The scale for measuring the teens’ faith worked very well. It was reliable (Cronbach’s
alpha ¼ 0.895). Furthermore, it embraced all the key components of Buddhism (the
Three Jewels). It is also very flexible because the items referring to faith in the Dharma
can be replaced by various other Buddhist doctrines, depending on who the research
subjects are.
The mixed methods employed benefited the study considerably. Quantitative measures could reveal the extent to which teenagers understand, believe, and practice
Buddhism, but could not provide extensive evidence about why they had faith in
Buddhism. The qualitative approaches helped to explore inner elements; for instance,
the experiences the teens gained from meditation practice.
Inevitably, there were some limitations. First, the questionnaire used for the control
group did not investigate how the participants practiced Buddhism, and thus missed a
chance to compare the Buddhist practices of the two groups. That is partly because the
teens in the control group were thought not to have previously obtained Buddhist education provided by the Zen monasteries, and partly because they may have had many different ways of practicing, making them difficult to compare. It is also because the timetable
set for the teens in the control group at the retreats was so busy that we could not
arrange in-depth interviews with them, so we were unable to explore how they were practicing Buddhism. In terms of the moral behavior measurement scale constructed by Ma
(2015), the timeline was quite long ( a year), which could have caused difficulty for the
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L. T. LE
participants in recalling what they had done. Therefore, it should be shortened to six
months. Finally, data collected from self-reports may reduce reliability. Hence, further
studies need to include observations or/and surveys involving relatives and teachers.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the retreat organizers and the monks and nuns at the Truc Lam Zen
monasteries of Vien Chieu, Chinh Phap, and Ham Rong for supporting this research. We also
thank the teenagers for their participation.
Disclosure statement
There is no potential conflict of interest.
Research approval
Decision 222/QD-VTNT dated November 14, 2018 by Tran Nhan Tong Institute, Vietnam
National University.
Notes on contributor
Loc Tan Le is associated with Tran Nhan Tong Institute, Vietnam National University, Hanoi,
Vietnam. Email: thanhminhchinhphap@gmail.com
ORCID
Loc Tan Le
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8407-5901
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Appendix A
Sunday retreat schedule
Time
7:30 am
7:30 8:00
8:00 8:45
8:45 9:00
9:00 9:45
9:45 10:15
10:15 11:00
11:00 12:00 pm
12:00 12:30
12:30 13:30
13:30 14:00
14:00 15:00
Activities
Gathering
Bowing to the Buddha and chanting
Sitting for meditation
Breaking for drinks
Learning Dharma lessons
Discussing in groups
Setting the tables for lunch
Taking mindful lunch
Clearing the tables and washing
Taking a rest
Doing personal activities
Learning skills (cooking, singing, camping, arranging
flowers, etc.)
Breaking for drinks
Discussing in groups
Snacking
Saying goodbye
People in charge
Brothers and sisters
Monks/nuns
Monks/nuns
Brothers and sisters
Monks/nuns
Brothers and sisters
Brothers and sisters
Monks/nuns
Brothers and sisters
Brothers and sisters
Brothers and sisters (monks/nuns)
15:00 15:15
Brothers and sisters
15:15 16:00
Brothers and sisters
16:00 16:30
Brothers and sisters
After 16:30
Brothers and sisters (monks/nuns)
Note.
1. Time and activities may be changed, depending on the condition in each monastery, except for the activities of sitting meditation, learning Dharma lessons, and taking mindful lunch.
2. Brothers and sisters: young lay people.
Appendix B
Questions presented in the first survey
Choose the best answer for each question
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
When was Shakyamuni Buddha born (lunar date)?
a. 8 February; b. 15 April; c. 8 December; d. 15 December.
Why did Prince Siddhartha renounce the world?
a. Because He wanted to save himself b. Because He wanted to be a wise man.
c. Because He loved all living beings d. Because He wanted to avoid old age and death.
Which of the following is not one of the Five Precepts?
a. No killing b. No taking food at the wrong time.
c. No stealing d. No lying.
Why did the Buddha impose the Five Precepts?
a. To guarantee equality b. To prevent negative karma produced by body, mouth, and
mind.
c. To maintain social harmony d. To ensure justice.
Which of the following is one of the Four Debts of Gratitude?
a. Gratitude to the Buddha b. Gratitude to heavenly beings.
c. Gratitude to the deities d. Gratitude to parents.
Which of the Four Debts of Gratitude are you embracing when you think about how hard
farmers work?
a. Gratitude to teachers b. Gratitude to the motherland and society;
c. Gratitude to living beings d. Gratitude to parents;
A single cause cannot usually produce an effect.
a. True; b. False
A person who commits an evil deed always experiences bad consequences afterwards.
a. True; b. False
You do an evil deed just by thinking about stealing some money.
a. True; b. False
16
10.
L. T. LE
Which of the following Six Rules of Harmony do you obey if you do not cheat in examinations/tests?
a. The harmony of dwelling together; b. The harmony of views.
c. The harmony of discipline and study; d. The harmony of discussion.
Questions presented in the second survey
Choose the best answer for each question
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
When did Shakyamuni Buddha pass away?
a. On the full moon day in February; b. On the full moon day in April.
c. On the full moon day in August; d. On the full moon day in December.
Which is the most meaningful thing should you do to embrace the debt of gratitude to
your parents?
a. Living morally; b. Caring about them.
c. Studying hard; d. Saving (money).
What can we learn from the Buddha’s enlightenment?
a. We must live a life of poverty and torment. b. We must be diligent.
c. We must have an enormous appetite. d. We must live alone.
When were the Three Jewels established?
a. After the Buddha passed away. b. After Kondanna and his brothers became the Buddha’s
disciples at the Deer Park.
c. After the Buddha became enlightened. d. When the Buddha was born.
Which of the following Six Rules of Harmony do you follow when you are in study
groups?
a. The harmony of dwelling together; b. The harmony of views.
c. The harmony of shared benefits; c. The harmony of discipline and study.
Which of the following Five Precepts do you observe faithfully by giving alms?
a. No killing; b. No stealing.
c. No lying; c. No taking alcohol or intoxicants.
The Law of Cause and Effect only relates to human beings.
a. True; b. False
The Five Precepts are only for Buddhists.
a. True; b. False
Participating in environmental protection is a way to embrace gratitude to the motherland
and society.
a. True; b. False
If we do evil deeds, we have no way to avoid bad consequences.
a. True; b. False